Roughy: by Jarryd Roughead (book review)
Image source: Hawthorne.fc
Jarryd Roughead was a key player in Hawthorn's threepeat from 2013-2015. He came back to footy in 2017 after recovering from cancer, being named captain that same year and ending his career in 2019 after 14 years and 4 premierships at the Hawks.
I knew of Jarryd's significance at Hawthorn and that he had come back to footy after having skin cancer, but after I received the book, I had to read it and see the experience from Jarryd's eyes.
I got the book for my birthday from my auntie. I started the book that night and read the book to the end (a rare occurrence for me). The book was well put together and even had entire chapters written by other people like Jarryd's wife, his brother and his oncologist, making the book a unique read.
If I was ever bored of reading I could flick to the middle where there were annotated pictures of significant moments in his life.
I had read a book by Neil Daniher about 5 months prior to picking up Roughy, and it made me a bit hesitant to start reading the book, because Neil Daniher's book, When all is said & done, was half footy and life and the other half was about belief systems and life lessons that I didn't understand.
I know I wasn't that books age demographic, and the book was for his grandchildren that Neil is afraid he'll never meet. I wanted to read a book that was about his childhood, footy and life after footy and that's exactly what I got from Roughy.
The book had everything, from his childhood in Leongatha and playing basketball and footy for Vic country, to a brief recap on all 4 premierships and the games leading up to them.
It was super easy to read and was made for all footy lovers.
I would highly recommend Roughy to AFL fans no matter who you go for or where you live. It was one of the best books I've ever read and I think you would agree with me if you read it too.
Thanks for reading to the end! I hope you enjoyed it!
If you did then there are more reads like this that I think you’ll like too. You can find them here: https://medium.com/@afl-guru/list/effa689dfae4
